3.

Weathering and soils

Oscar Alvarez
Department of Physics and Geoscienes
Universidad del Norte
 Weathers on
Earth
Five broadly defined vegetation zones
characterize the global distribution of plant
communities:
• semi-arid grasslands
• temperate forests
• tropical forests
• arid deserts
• polar regions
Weathering
Disintegration or breakdown of rocks (no transport, that is erosion).
Alteration of rocks and minerals by processes acting at or near Earth's surface.
It causes: changes in strength, permeability, or particle size

Types of weathering
Physical weathering: mechanical breakdown of rocks; changes size

Chemical weathering: changes composition; mostly aqueous geochemistry.

Biological weathering: effects of organisms; can act like either chemical or physical
weathering
Weathering
Temperature and precipitation control both
the magnitude and relative importance of
physical and chemical weathering processes.

Chemical weathering
• Most effective in areas of warm, moist climates –
decaying vegetation creates acids that enhance
weathering.
• Least effective in polar regions (water is locked up
as ice) and arid regions (little water)

Mechanical weathering
• Enhanced where there are frequent freeze-thaw
cycles Tropical regions are generally dominated
by chemical weathering and high latitudes
and altitudes by physical weathering.
3.2. Physical weathering
Mechanical weathering
Disintegration or disagragation into smaller pieces

Physical breakup of rock due to: Causes Change in volume

• Pressure release: Exfoliation i total volume
• Freeze & thaw of water
ii void or fissure volume
• Thermal expansion and contraction

• crystallization of salt(s) within rocks

1. Exfoliation
 2. Exfoliation
Rock breaks apart in layers that are parallel to the earth's surface
as rock is uncovered, it expands (due to the lower confining pressure)

Sheet joints due to exfoliation

Freeze & Thaw
Frost wedging: rock breakdown caused by expansion of ice in cracks and
joints
Freeze & Thaw
Where water seeps into rock weaknesses during day, then freezes and
expands at night, it can break the rock apart.
Ranges from single isolated rocks to whole surfaces covered by rock
fragments, called felsenmeer (German for “rock sea”)
Thermal Expansion
Repeated cycles of expansion and contraction in
near-surface environments can lead to in place
mechanical rounding of fractured rock without
any downhill transport.
Crystallization of salts
Growth of salt crystals from
hyperconcentrated solutions in arid
environments.
Saline fluids flow in and evaporate on
surfaces leaving solids that expand to
fracture and flake off surficial material,
creating pits on the surface.
Consequences of physical weathering
Reduces rock material to smaller fragments that
are easier to transport (more later)

Increases exposed surface area of rock, making it

more vulnerable to further physical and chemical
weathering.

Mechanical weathering dominates in high

mountains with steep slope gradients that create
stresses in rock, extensive fracturing from tectonic
forces, and periodic freezing temperatures.
3.3. Chemical weathering
Chemical weathering
Transformation/decomposition of one mineral into another breaking of
chemical bonds.
Effect: net loss of elements retained in the rock many go into solution
and are carried away…
Agents Processes
Water Oxidation
Oxygen Dissolution
Carbon dioxide Hydrolysis + Clay Formation
Living organisms
Acid rain
Mineral Stability
Mineral Stability
Relative mobility of cations:

Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+ > K+ > Si4+ > Fe3+ > Al3+

The most mobile cations are readily stripped from mineral surfaces, tend
to remain in solution, and are the first to be lost from rocks as they
weather.
The least mobile cations are relatively insoluble and become
concentrated in residual soils.
 Oxidation
Oxidation = loss of electron
Reduction = gain of electron

oxidation is often the first form of weathering to

alter freshly exposed rock surfaces.

Iron combines with oxygen in the presence of

water in a processes called oxidation to produce
iron oxide (rust)
Dissolution
Processes by which rocks are dissolved by
water.

Strongly influenced by pH and temperature.

Calcium carbonate (calcite, limestone,

dolomite), sodium chloride (salt), and calcium
sulfate (gypsum) are particularly vulnerable to
dissolution weathering.
Dissolution
.

Calcium carbonate (calcite, limestone,

dolomite), sodium chloride (salt), and
calcium sulfate (gypsum) are particularly
vulnerable to dissolution weathering.
Dissolution
Rainwater is slightly acidic (pH = 5.7) from dissolved
atmospheric CO2 (which forms carbonic acid,
H2CO3).
Soils are more acidic than rainwater due to
microbial decomposition of organic matter.

Dissolved material may:

• remain in solution and move along with flowing
groundwater
• preprecipitate elsewhere
• enter streams and rivers and eventually reach the
ocean
Dissolution
Quartz and most other rock-forming silicate minerals are
not very soluble at typical Earth surface conditions.

Calcite and salts are readily dissolved in water, so

carbonate rocks and evaporates are particularly
susceptible to dissolution.

Iron and aluminum oxides are virtually insoluble under

oxygenated soilwater conditions, so these compounds are
typically left behind while more soluble, mobile material
is Depleted.
Dissolution
What controls amount and rates of dissolution?
1. Flow Path: distance travelled effects ionic strength, pH, etc...

2. Contact Time: longer contact = more removal, but rate decreases as water
saturates. Expect groundwater to have higher concentrations of dissolved
species.

3. Water Flux: more H2O = more dissolution.

4. Temperature: influences reaction kinetics

hot = fast tropics - deep weathering profiles
cold = slow high latitude - thin weathering profiles
Hydrolysis and clay formation
Hydrolysis is a chemical reaction in which water molecules (H2O)
are split into protons (H+) and hydroxide anions (OH-) that react
with primary rock-forming minerals to form new compounds
(secondary minerals).
This process results transformation of aluminosilicate minerals,
like feldspars and micas, into various clay minerals or oxides.
When carbonic acid dissociates to form an “acid” or protons, the
resulting weathering of aluminosilicate minerals consumes CO2,
drawing down atmospheric CO2 levels and thus helping to cool
global climate through the general reaction:
Biological weathering
Can be both chemical and mechanical in nature.
roots split rocks apart
roots produce acids
that dissolve rocks.
tree throw
burrowing animals
makes H+ ions available (acid)
Lichens and mosses grow on rocks
Roots wedge into pores and
crevices. When the roots
grow, the rock splits.

Lichens produce weak acids

that chemically weather rock
3.4. Soils
Soil Profiles
Soil properties and depths with Latitude